Just on the tails of being ranked among the best places to live, a new study from NiceRx presented the ten states with the highest life expectancy in the United States. Massachusetts came in 4th with an average life expectancy of 79 years. The Spirit of America tied with other states including New England neighbor, New Hampshire, as well as California.
NiceRx studied life expectancy averages in addition to current health trends, past life expectancies in America, median ages and the quality of wellness and fitness amenities across the 50 states. The final top ten was determined:
by looking into each state’s life expectancy at birth, sex, race, and in the past. We found that life expectancy in some states has fallen in recent years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are the states with the longest life expectancy at birth.
Coming in first place was Hawaii, then Washington and for third place Minnesota. Also on the list from New England were Vermont (7th) and Connecticut(10th).
Highest life expectancy in United States according to Nice Rx
- Hawaii- 80.7 years
- Washington-79.2
- Minnesota-79.1
- California, Massachusetts, New Hampshire-79
- Oregon, Vermont-78.8
- Utah-78.6
- Conneticut-78.4
That makes four New England states on the list with the highest life expectancies in the country, which is good news considering the overall life expectancy in the United States dropped for the second consecutive year from 77 to 76.4 years. Females in the United States have an average life expectancy of 79.3 and males 73.5 based on CDC findings.
To create a more comprehensive study of health in the general United States, NiceRx also measured states with the highest personal health expenditure. In Massachusetts, residents spent $16.7 billion on personal health care. Massachusetts flunked the hospital waiting time assement with a total of 189 minutes spent on average at a hospital visit.
According to NiceRx, “Research in 2021 revealed that there are too many patients and not enough staff or beds, which is the main problem across many Massachusetts hospitals.”
More recently, a new study from Life Expectancy, a health and wellness company whose primary mission is to “extend human lifespans” again found Massachusetts to rank in the top 10(at number 7) in addition to Vermont at number 2 and New Hampshire at number 4.
Rhode Island ranked at 13, Connecticut at 15 and Maine at 17.
Life Expectancy assessed each state based on predicted lifespan at birth in addition to exercise, diet, weight, sleep, stress, social isolation, proximity to parks and nature, and the amount of time people spend outdoors recreationally.
These are the top 10 best states in America for a long life, according to Life Expectancy:
- Hawaii
- Minnesota and Vermont (tie)
- Washington
- New Hampshire
- Utah
- Colorado
- Massachusetts
- California
- Oregon
- Idaho
While the two lists aren’t a perfect chronological match the common denominator is that Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire made the top 10 on both. Massachusetts also just ranked as the best state in America to raise a family, partly due to health and lifestyle factors.